Life is All About Balance

One of the many things that I have struggled with since I hit goal was learning that I can enjoy treats and move on.

I think this week I finally took steps in the right direction.

Wednesday night was the holiday party for work. We went to an arcade and ate pizza. I capped my serving at two slices and felt satisfied with that.

Oh, and guess what went in next to the arcade about a month ago? Carlo's Bake Shop! For those of you who have never heard of Carlo's, just watch Cake Boss. You'll see the amazement. Anyway, I was DYING to go to a Carlo's, so I went in on Wednesday night. Oddly, the only pastries that struck my fancy were the cookies. I wasn't in a cupcake mood, and I don't like frosted brownies. I found chocolate chip M&M cookies that were a NORMAL cookie size (not the ginormous ones that most bakeries sell) and got two. I ate one that night and one the next night. Totally worth it. I found that one at a time is plenty. I enjoyed it, didn't want more after that, and moved on.

Saturday was another example of treating and moving on. I wanted an Auntie Anne's almond pretzel. So what did I do? I got ONE. Just one. Enjoyed every bite, tracked it and moved on. Oh, and I didn't get dip with it either. I call that a win.

Today was I think the prime example of this. I have been craving fries forever. I let myself have them at the basketball game I was at. I enjoyed them and after I was finished, that was it. I didn't want more, I didn't feel deprived, and most of all, I didn't feel guilty. I call this the biggest win of the weekend.

I admit that I thought I wouldn't be able to eat my almond pretzels or fries ever again once I hit goal. I was still struggling with an "all or nothing" mindset. Turns out I was being unrealistic. For this whole maintenance thing to be, well, maintainable, I have to let myself enjoy those kinds of foods every once in awhile. Otherwise, I'm setting myself up for major binging on those foods, which led me to being 246 pounds in the first place. That is not the place I want to go back to at all.

I think that with such treat foods is both in portion control and not feeling guilty about it. I was afraid that I would want ALL the almond pretzels and fries in sight. Turns out that one portion of each was exactly what I needed. No regrets with my decision, just satisfaction.

Honestly, this was something that I needed to figure out for months now, and I think I finally did. Will I be perfect with this? No, and I don't expect to be. As long as I keep in control, and let myself enjoy something every so often, I'll be moving in the right direction. As long as I don't let myself let "treats" turn into "the norm," I'll be in balance, and living a healthy and happy life.

In the end, balance is what life is about. That's all.